Palestinian prisoners held in administrative detention to boycott Israeli courts

According to Wafa news agency, Palestinian prisoners held in administrative detention have collectively embarked upon additional resistance tactics against Israel’s various forms of violence. Since early July, 60 prisoners have boycotted Israeli administrative detention courts, as a form of protest against the interminable extension of incarceration without charge or trial.

The minister for the Committee of Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs, Issa Qaraqe, has stated that by early August, around 480 prisoners will be refusing to appear before Israel’s courts. Prisoners who have joined the campaign have declared the courts “deceptive” and accused them of not adhering to the standards of a fair trial..

The collective decision to embark upon a boycott of Israeli courts also presents a challenge for the public image of Palestinian prisoners. Hunger strikes – another valid form of protest – have become synonymous with a few names who managed to jolt the international community into a semblance of attention, while also fracturing activism into forms of individual publicity rather than solidarity with all Palestinian prisoners. Boycotting Israeli courts will shift the focus to the systematic oppression currently devastating many Palestinian families, rather than on individuals who, either due to connections or personal tenacity, have managed to eclipse fellow Palestinian prisoners in their quest for freedom – only to find themselves once again incarcerated under the same conditions, and lacking international support.

There have been a number of reports documenting the consequences of the intentional negligence of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, particularly the lack of medical care for those suffering from severe or terminal illnesses. However, as is the case with every aspect of oppression inflicted upon Palestinians, it is very rarely that the actual source is tackled – one of the repercussions intended by Israel is for the world to perceive Palestine as an insurmountable humanitarian problem. Such a projection would relieve both Israel and the international community of facing its political responsibility and complicity in sustaining its colonial vision.

Qaraqe has insisted that the boycott of the administrative detention courts necessitates the support of the international community, citing the Geneva Convention as backing for his argument against the routine collective punishment of Palestinian detainees. While this kind of argument may provide some diplomatic platform, the international community – notably through the United Nations – has regularly expressed its support of Israel’s political violence through willing acquiescence, silence or ineffective condemnations that also harbour a defence of Israel’s alleged “right to exist” – a phrase that should be analysed within the framework of UN complicity.

In the case of Israel’s application of administrative detention, which is not completely illegal under international law but carries a clause that it should be exercised only in unique circumstances, the UN is unlikely to support the Palestinian prisoners’ boycott of Israeli courts. As has been evident in other scenarios, the UN’s primary objective is to safeguard itself, which means the endorsement of violence against resistant populations. Qaraqe may cite international law and appeal to diplomacy, however such tactics only dilute Palestinian resistance, which should derive its legitimacy solely from its own history and memory, rather than seek justifications from internationally corrupt and misinterpreted legislation.

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